Nonsinkable-boat construction



- I rmgm Feb h1 {5,ARNOLD 9 NONS INKABLE BOAT CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 161 1925 ts -she u ATTORNEY.

G. ARNQLDZ'VI NONSINKABLE BOAT CONSTRUCTION Filed Nox I.

15 1925 v 4Sheets-Sheet2 IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY.

Feb. 1, 1927. i

I G. ARNOLD NONSINKABLE BOAT CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheebs-Shet 3 Filed Nov' 16. 1925 40% ATTORNEY.

1927. s. ARNOLD NONSINKABLE BOAT CONSTRWJ Feb. 1

More

Fileq Nov. 16 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet I N VEN TOR. GL'ORGE A m/0L 0.

I ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 1, 1927-,

GEORGE ARNOLD, OF ASTORIA, NEW" YORK.

NONSINKABLE- BOAT CONSTRUCTION:

Application filed November 16,1925 Serial No. 63,458.

This. invention relates to non-sinkable boats and in particularto a boatconstruction embodying a plurality of chambered keels which will-o-dfer less resistance to the passage of the boat through the water than has heretofore been accomplished in boat construction.

A particular object of the invention ist-o provide aboat with a plurality of chambered keels, which, in the event of accident, such as a collision, only those chambers of the different keels which are dan'laged will be rendered useless, the chambers being so arrangedthat any accident thereto would not impair the buoyancy. of the boat.

A further object of the invention is to so arrange the keels that they are separated so thataany accident which results'in the breakage of any particular part-of one of the keels will not result in damage to the other, the keels being separated and so arranged that they will prevent sinking of, the boat.

Afurther object of the invention is to arrange a plurality of compartments between the keels which will not interfere with the progress of the boatbutrather will be so arranged as to offer very little resistance to the passage of the boat through the water.

In order to providea boat having airtight chambers which go to make up a plu- 'rality of heels, having compartments or bulkheads therebetween, which are themselves water-tight, it is necessary to embody in a boat of this character, a peculiar-under structure, the/exact form of the structure being such that thealower part of the boat is substantially water-tight in each and every compartment and yet so arranging the compartments that they do not offer an obstruction to the passage of the boat through the water.v

A further particular object of the invention is to provide a keel for a boat which is made up of a plurality of water-tight chainbers, placed end to end and secured together to form what is ordinarily the backbone of the whole structure, the keel chambers themselves, being so shaped that they will give an added buoyancy to the boat. l Referring to the drawings, wherein I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a smallboat showing a possible seating arrangement and motor arrangement. s

Figure 2 1s a bottom'plan View of the boat as seen in Figure 1', the position of thepropellers and rudders beingclearly shown.

Figure 3 is an enlarged1top, plan view;

of the. boat hull with the fiooring thereof removed to show the interior construct-ion.

Figure 4 is a vertical. sectionthrough the boat showing theposition of the centerikeel,

the flooring and upper part of thevessel.

Figure 5 is a sectionalview taken on the line 55 of Figure 3 andishows the arrange ment of the compartment, fuel tank and up.- per structure of the boat.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary top. plan view of the laminated bowkeel piece, showing its connection with the starboard, port and center keel runners.

Figure 7 is a cross section-taken on the line 7-7 of Figureb. showing, the relative positionflofthekeels and bulkheads and upper part. of the boat construction:

Figure 8-isa fragmentary section-taken 011 the line 8-8 of Figure 7 showing the rear-end construction of the vessel.

Figure 9-is'aevertical cross, section, taken through one of the heels showing the relative position of the keel chamber,.keel rib, hull planking and keel rudder j 1 Figure 10 is a fragment-arycross section, taken on the line 10-10 of Figure 9 and shows the relative spacing of the keel chamher and position of the keel runnerand:

Figure 11 is a View in perspective showing th construction-- of the keel chamber and a spacing, member used therewith. I

Referring tothe drawings in detail and in particular to Figures 1 to 5 inclusive, the numeral5 indicates-the deck and .6 the pit of a boat, having the usual flooring 7 seats 8 and propelling motors- 9, the forward part of theboat being provided with a keel .tank 10, having atits forward end a curved channel piece ll, which rests-on the bow keel piece 12, which consists of aseries of laminated wood pieces, arranged so that they may be bent as is usual in the bow, construction of passenger boats, it .is to be understood that 7 that the extended portions 19 thereof funcits rear end to the forward end of a timberlike, keel runner 13, the keel runner being suitably rabbeted into the rear end of said bow keel piece and the forward end of two other keel runners 14 and 15, fit into said how piece and are bolted to the sides of the bow piece as bythe bolts 16. These keel runners are rovided with an u standin fian 'e 17 the lower portion of the keel runners being formed to provide a chock 19 of substantially triangular formation, having outwardly extending edge portions 19 The bottom por- "tions. 18 of said keel runners, for the purposes of protection, are covered with a steel plate 20 and it will be particularly noted tion to prevent the lifting of the vessel out of the water in heavy seas. Upon these three keel runners, namely, the port runner 14, the starboard runner 15 and center runner 13 are built air-tight keels, which form the entire bottom construction of the boat and which prevent its sinking, in the event of an accident; The keels themselves, are made up of a series of keel chambers 21, formed of steel and having their bottoms channeled as at 22 to fit over and rest upon the upstanding flange 17 of the keel runner.

Into the outer ends of these keel chamber sections 21 is fitted a flanged head 23, the

flanges thereof projecting out beyond the sides-of the keel chamber, as at 2 1- and being provided with bolt holes 25 through which may be passed, suitable bolts to bind the chambers together, there being positioned between these flanges 24, the wooden, chamber or keel spacers 26, these spacers also acting as cushions to prevent buckling of the chamber walls in collisions. It will be evident that the lower end of these spacers must be out so that they also fit over the flange 17 of the-keel runner and will also act to com pletely seal each keel chamber. It is evident that once the bolts are drawn up, the bolts being numbered 27, that all of the keel chambers will be fixed together and that each individual chamber will be rendered airtight. In order to fix the keel chambers or the keel, as a whole, in place in the vessel, use is made of a plurality of ribs'28 which extend from alongside the flanged portion 17 of the keel runner up and around the keel chamber 21. These ribs 28 are shown in Figures 3 and 9 and are in turn, fastened to as shown in Figure 9, these ribs28 are se- 7 cured to the ribs 32, which, as shown in longitudinal strips 35, which are in turn,

secured to the planking 33, which form the upper wall of the compartment. To these ribs 34. is secured the planking 36, which forms the bottom of the compartment.

teferring in particular to Figure 5, it caubc seen thatthe forward compartment 37 extends further down and is deeper than the compartment 88, or the one to the rear. The object of having the rear compartment narrower than the forward bulkhead is so that a volume of water will reach the propeller 39, which is driven in the usual manner from the motor 9, and also, when the boat has attained a high speed, the driving force of the propeller 39 will raise theforward end of the boatso that it will more or less travel in that portion adjacent the corners of the rear ends of the compartments, thus, only a small portion of the bottom surface of the compartments will be in actual contact with the water and for this reason, friction will be reduced and the operation of the boat through the water will not be greatly hindered as is the case in the boats employing the usual method of construction.

The ribs 28, which surround the keel chamhers at spaced intervals are connected together by the longitudinally extending stringers 40, these stringers also resting upon the flanged portion of the keel chambers, and in turn, supporting the sleepers 41 to which the floor is secured, the floor being.

indicated by the numeral 7.

It will be evident, upon inspection of Figure 5, that the rear end of the compartment 88 is closed by a suitable wall 4-2 and the front end thereof, is separated from the bulkhead 37 through the medium of a wall- 43, it being understood that there are two compartments 38 and two compartments 37, one of each being disposed between the central keel and the port and starboard keels respectively.

It will be noted upon reference to Figures 41 and 5 that the compartments and the keels terminate at the rear wall 1 1 of the bow shaped, water-tight keel tank 10 while the keel runners extend thereunder to their engagement with the laminated bow keel piece,

before referred to. Adjacent the sides of this keel piece, there is provided the suitable ribs i5 to which 'the bow. planking -16 is secured iirtheusuai manner.

In EigureS, itwill be noted that the rear walls 47 of the-"rearmost keel chambers i8, will be shaped to coincidewith the shape-of the stern of the boat as designed and, inthis particularinstance, I make use of a number of vertical'iribs i9, which extend upwardly and are "fastened to upper stern beam 50; across the back o-fth'e-boat, these ribs 49 having attached thereto the stern planking, which finishes the rear portion of theboat.

In Figure 7, it will be noted thatI have provided, along-the sides of the boat, the deck beams or miner, which are'suitably secured to the vertically disposed hull rib- 30, and which, in turn, supports the deck planking of the-boat. This deck planking is indicated as at Particular attention is drawn to the fact that the three keel runners are rigidly held in position and it therefore follows that the air keels are also secured in position-and converge at the forward part of'the boat to form the prow thereof. These keels, forming, for the great part thebuoyantagency' of the boat and beingseparated, as they are, as has been'before described, each constitute a plurality of air tight chamhers, which may be damagedto a considerable extent without impairing the buoyancy of the boat.

Of course-it-is understood that in ocean liner construction, these compartments and keel chambers will'be provided with suitable manholes so that they can be painted interiorly to prevent corrosion. In order that the body of the vessel may be suitably reinforced, I provide the steel transverse plate members 53 which conform to the interior shape of the vessel and are suitably secured to the ribs and superstructure of the vessel. I have provided two of these steel reinforcing plates, but any number may be employed, depending upon the length and beam of the boat.

It will be evident therefore, that through the medium of my improved construction, I

have provided a seagoing vessel which is practically non-sinkable in view of the fact that the keel itself or those parts which keep the boat in upright position are made of a series of water-tight chambers, these chamill bers being of sufficient length to insure of a plurality being embodied in one single keel. so that should the boat meet with an accident, a minimum number of chambers will only be destroyed or broken into to admit the water. It is evident that the greater majority of these chambers would have to be filled with water before the boat would sink below its normal water line due to the fact that the great buoyant eiifect of the other non-injured compartments Will prevent the boat from sinking, even though it has taken on a great quantity-of Water in many injured keel chambers. In the event of a leak ,the water can onlyenter-th'e leakmg compartment and there Wlll be no leaks,

with the exception of those caused by acci dents or corrosion and the air-tight keels being constructed of steel, will Withstand the action of the water for an indefinite period.

While I have illustrated and described my invention in a particular manner, I am' aware ot the tact that various alterations 1n 1 a plurality of keels,

said keels consistmgof spacedwater-tight' chambers, and keel runners'common to said chambers tor supporting the same in alignment. I i

keel. a plurality of water-tight keelchambers, heel-runners on WlUCir'SalCl chambers are A boat eon'iprising a plurality of spaced each 0t said keels being made up of' mounted, and a bow chamber at which said keel chambers terminate, said chamber being shaped to conform to the shape of theboat bow. i

3. A boat comprising a keel runner, a plurality of chambers mounted on said runner,

spaces between said chambers, means for rendering said chambers water-tight, and means for securing said chambers to said keel runner. I

i. A boat comprising a plurality of keels, water-tight compartments connecting said keels, one of said compartments being deeper than the other compartment, and means associated with'said compartments for retaining said keels in position.

A. boat con'iprising a plurality of tanks forming a water-tight keel, arunner forming a bottom closure for said keel tanks, and meanson said keel for resisting an upward movement of the boat out of the Water. 6. A. boat comprising a plurality of airtight keels, a keel runner in each of said keels, compartments separating said keels, ribs extending about said keels and about said compartments, a central keel bow piece 'to which said keels are-secured, and a keel tank supported on said keel bow piece.

7. A boat comprising a plurality of keels, each of which composed of anumber of water-tight chambers, spacers between said chambers adapted to act as cushions, end plates for said chambers, between which the spacers are positioned and means insaid end plates and said spacers for securing the chambers together.

8. A boat comprising a plurality of airbow of the boat.

10'. A boat comprising a keel runner, plurality of chambers of substantially pear shaped formation in cross section mounted on said runner, spacing members for the ends of said chambers and means for joining all of said chambers to each other and to saidkeel runner whereby a water-tight keel is provided for substantially the length of the boat.

' 11. A boat comprising a longitudinally extending keel, having a vertically disposed rib portion, chambers mounted on said vertically disposedportion, having an inwardly disposed'flange adapted to form a groove into which the vertical portion of the keel runner is adapted to lit and said keel cham- -ber being larger in its upper portion than in the lower portion,

12A boat comprising a keel runner, a plurality of chambers mounted on said runner, spaced walls joining said keel chambers and forming water-tight therebetween and means for securing said chambers to said keel runner.

13. A boat comprising a plurality of heels, water-tight compartments connecting said keels, keel runners disposed at the lower portion of said keels and arranged to have converging connections at the front of the boat with a keel bow piece, and a bow tank supported on said how piece.

14. A boat comprising a keel runner, a

plurality of chambers mounted on said runner, spaces between said chambers, means lor rendering said chambers water-tlght,

means for securing said chambers to said keel runner, and said keel runner having a lower edge substantially triangular in cross section whereby raising of the boat out "of the water is resisted.

A boat comprising a plurality of compartments spaced keel runners, tanks mounted on said keel runners and joined together end to end longitudinally of the boat to constitute water-tight keels, compartments between said keels, a bow piece to which said keel runners are secured and a bow tank mounted on said how piece at which said keel chambers terminate.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

GEORGE ARNOLD. 

